Our History
During the First Far East Agricultural Credit Workshop held in the Philippines on June 1–14, 1956, delegates from the Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of China, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of the Philippines, Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of Vietnam, and Japan passed a resolution stating, “that a Far East Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Training Institute be recommended to be established in a country represented in the 1956 Far East Agricultural Credit Workshop”; and “that the host country of the 1956 Far East Agricultural Credit Workshop be requested to take the initiative for the realization of the objectives of the resolution.”
In light of the post-World War II challenges facing agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia, such as high interest rates, inadequate and inaccessible credit, and inefficient marketing systems, the Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives Institute (ACCI) was inaugurated on April 23, 1960, at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Established as a semi-autonomous unit under the supervision of the University of the Philippines (UP), ACCI aimed to develop the needed human resource base to manage credit and marketing facilities that would support rural development across the region. Initial financial assistance for constructing the Institute’s offices, classrooms, research laboratory, library, auditorium, dormitory, and training and research equipment was provided by the United States of America–International Cooperation Agency (ICA) and the Philippine National Economic Council (NEC). On July 1, 1962, the UP Board of Regents approved the integration of ACCI’s operating budget into the regular appropriation of the University, thereby providing stable funding for its operations and maintenance.
Originally attached to the UPLB College of Agriculture, and later to the College of Economics and Management (CEM), ACCI became a unit under the College of Public Affairs (CPAf) in 1998. In 2010, the Institute was transferred back to CEM and was formally renamed as the Institute of Cooperatives and Bio-Enterprise Development (ICOPED). This rebranding aligned the Institute’s mandate with the strategic directions of the University, the national cooperative development agenda, and the United Nations' framework on cooperatives, which highlights their contributions to poverty reduction, employment generation, and social integration. The name change was officially approved by the UP Board of Regents during its 1263rd meeting on November 26, 2010.
ICOPED reflects ACCI’s reimagined perspective of the cooperative movement amid the modernizing landscape of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy. It recognizes the innovative and evolving role of cooperatives as sustainable business enterprises and integral actors in agricultural value chains. Today, cooperatives are no longer limited to agricultural credit and financial services; they are active in production, processing, marketing, and institutional coordination. With its renewed vision and mission to advance the cooperative and social enterprise sectors in the Philippines and beyond, ICOPED continues to expand its scope and enhance its relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness across its academic, research, training and extension programs, and public service initiatives.
In light of the post-World War II challenges facing agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia, such as high interest rates, inadequate and inaccessible credit, and inefficient marketing systems, the Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives Institute (ACCI) was inaugurated on April 23, 1960, at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Established as a semi-autonomous unit under the supervision of the University of the Philippines (UP), ACCI aimed to develop the needed human resource base to manage credit and marketing facilities that would support rural development across the region. Initial financial assistance for constructing the Institute’s offices, classrooms, research laboratory, library, auditorium, dormitory, and training and research equipment was provided by the United States of America–International Cooperation Agency (ICA) and the Philippine National Economic Council (NEC). On July 1, 1962, the UP Board of Regents approved the integration of ACCI’s operating budget into the regular appropriation of the University, thereby providing stable funding for its operations and maintenance.
Originally attached to the UPLB College of Agriculture, and later to the College of Economics and Management (CEM), ACCI became a unit under the College of Public Affairs (CPAf) in 1998. In 2010, the Institute was transferred back to CEM and was formally renamed as the Institute of Cooperatives and Bio-Enterprise Development (ICOPED). This rebranding aligned the Institute’s mandate with the strategic directions of the University, the national cooperative development agenda, and the United Nations' framework on cooperatives, which highlights their contributions to poverty reduction, employment generation, and social integration. The name change was officially approved by the UP Board of Regents during its 1263rd meeting on November 26, 2010.
ICOPED reflects ACCI’s reimagined perspective of the cooperative movement amid the modernizing landscape of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy. It recognizes the innovative and evolving role of cooperatives as sustainable business enterprises and integral actors in agricultural value chains. Today, cooperatives are no longer limited to agricultural credit and financial services; they are active in production, processing, marketing, and institutional coordination. With its renewed vision and mission to advance the cooperative and social enterprise sectors in the Philippines and beyond, ICOPED continues to expand its scope and enhance its relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness across its academic, research, training and extension programs, and public service initiatives.
